By Greg Shtraks
A decade after the demarcation of the Sino-Russian Border, Russia is becoming increasingly dependent on China.
Exactly a decade ago, on October 14, 2004, Vladimir Putin travelled to Beijing to sign an agreement that would cement the final demarcation of the Sino-Russia border. It was a resolution that took forty years of heated negotiations and a substantial sacrifice on the part of the Russian government, with the Kremlin agreeing to give up Tarabarov Island (Yinlong in Chinese) and half of the Bolshoi Ussuryiski Island (Heixiazi) in order to secure an agreement. Interestingly, Putin’s trip came in the immediate aftermath of the Beslan crisis as much of Russia was still reeling from the deaths of 334 hostages, including 186 children. As it would turn out, the reforms made in the wake of Beslan would have ramifications for Sino-Russian relations as great as those of the border demarcation.
The Kremlin used the Beslan crisis as an excuse to eliminate provincial gubernatorial elections and give the president the authority to appoint the governors himself. As a result, Putin was able to remove the populist governors of the provinces bordering China (Primorskii Krai, Khabarovskii Krai, and Amur Oblast), all of who used anti-Chinese rhetoric to get elected, and replace them with his own people, who would follow the new, pro-China policy emanating from the Kremlin. Since then, despite minor disputes and lingering distrust, Sino-Russian relations have warmed significantly, culminating with Russia’s “pivot” towards China over the last several months.
Read the full story at The Diplomat